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1 Abstract the Problem of Pre-Contractual Reliance ABSTRACT THE PROBLEM OF PRE-CONTRACTUAL RELIANCE: THREE WAYS TO A THIRD WAY Global Fellows Forum 11 October 2006 Ben McFarlane This paper considers a specific common law problem and raises the general question of how private law can best be reformed. The specific problem consists in the traditional common law approach, prevailing to this day in England, to pre-contractual reliance. If A and B enter into negotiations as to a potential bargain, B may incur costs in reliance on the possibility of a contract’s being concluded. For example, if B, a manufacturer, expects to enter into a contract of sale, he may incur costs in preparing for timely production. The traditional common law approach is that, if B acts in the absence of a binding contract, he does so at his own risk. Simplifying somewhat, there are in general only two possibilities: A and B’s negotiations have either resulted in a contract, in which case B will be protected; or they have not, and B’s loss must lie where it falls. The purpose of this paper is to argue for a third possibility: where B reasonably relies to his detriment on a belief, for which A is responsible, that a contract will be concluded, then A will be under a duty to protect B’s reliance. In the absence of a contract, A will not in general be bound to protect B’s expectation; rather, A’s duty is to compensate B for the detriment he suffers by that absence. Three routes to this conclusion are discussed. The first is doctrinal and focuses on the potential for various existing doctrines of English law to protect pre-contractual reliance. The second is comparative and considers approaches adopted in two other common law countries: Australia and, in particular, the United States. The third is economic and builds on arguments made in American academic literature as to the efficiency gains produced by protecting pre-contractual reliance. In this way, the paper raises the general question of how the law can best be reformed. It will be argued that, in the context of this specific problem, a purely comparative approach cannot succeed, but that doctrinal and economic analyses can provide mutual support and, combined with some comparative insights, provide a compelling case for reform. 1 A. The Problem and the Proposal 1. Introduction The common law, as commonly understood, is notoriously ineffective in protecting those who rely to their detriment in anticipation of a contract which fails to materialize.1 The problems will be considered by an examination of English law. In some ways, England may seem to be the wrong jurisdiction to select, as it has perhaps made least progress in protecting pre-contractual reliance. The decision could be defended prosaically on grounds of the author’s self-interest; or politically by pointing to England as the source of the common law’s approach and hence the author of its problems. However, the best justification is paradoxical: as English law is yet to engage fully with the problem of pre- contractual reliance, it has most potential to develop an appropriate solution to the problem. As a late starter, English law can learn from the experience and difficulties of those common law countries, such as Australia and, in particular, the United States, in which judges have shown more boldness in tackling the problem of pre-contractual reliance. Further, the contention of this paper is that, in the doctrine of proprietary estoppel, English law possesses a tool uniquely well-qualified to deal with the problem of pre-contractual reliance. Indeed, it may even be the case that judges in Australia and the United States could benefit from applying this paper’s proposal, developed from the English law of proprietary estoppel, as to how pre-contractual reliance should be protected. 2. The Problem There are three aspects to the problem caused by the common law’s traditional approach to pre-contractual reliance: coverage; clarity; and coherence. As to coverage, the concern is that the common law may fail to provide a claim to deserving parties. This point can be demonstrated by considering the narrow approach 1 For surveys of the position see e.g. Barker, Coping with Failure (2003) 19 Journal of Contract Law 110 (focusing on English law); Farnsworth, Pre-Contractual Liability and Preliminary Agreements (1987) 87 Col L Rev 218 (focusing on US law); Carter, Ineffective Transactions in Essays on Restitution (ed. Finn), ch.7 (focusing on Australian law); and Jones, Claims Arising Out of Anticipated Contracts Which Do Not Materialise (1980) 18 Univ W Ontario L Rev 447 (focusing on English law, but also discussing Canadian law). 2 taken in Regalian Properties v London Docklands Development Corporation.2 A, a land- owner, and B, a developer, had been negotiating for the grant of a building lease. Both parties expected a contract to result and, as a result, B incurred significant pre-contractual costs in employing architects to prepare plans and in seeking planning permission for the proposed development. Progress was made towards agreeing a final contract, but following the crash in property prices that occurred in England in the late 1980s, the deal did not proceed. The fact that B was denied a claim in Regalian is not particularly surprising; indeed, it is consistent with the proposal this paper will make as to when pre- contractual reliance should be protected. First, A made clear that its negotiations with B were “subject to contract” and hence it is difficult to argue that B was relying on a reasonable belief that A would pay for B’s preparatory work in the event that no contract was agreed. Secondly, the deal was called off not as a result of A’s unilateral decision but rather by the significant change of circumstances constituted by the crash in the property market. Nonetheless, the reasoning of Rattee J. looks beyond these two particular concerns and attempts to set out a general structure for dealing with pre-contractual reliance. First, it seems that if A requests that B perform work which benefits A but is extraneous to the planned contract between the parties, then B can recover reasonable remuneration from A for such work.3 Equally, if A requests that B perform some of the work which would be due under the planned contract then, by receiving the benefit of that work, A comes under an obligation to pay a reasonable sum for it.4 However, if A does not specifically request particular work then it seems, on the Regalian approach, that B will have no claim. Moreover, even where A does request work, if that work is done simply to enable B to prepare for performance under the contract, then B will, in general, have no claim. It may well be the case that A planned to provide B with some compensation for that work in calculating the terms of the planned contract, but such an understanding does not entitle B to be paid where no contract is concluded. An important difficulty in analysing Regalian comes from the fact that the negotiations in that case were said to be expressly “subject to contract”. It could therefore 2 [1995] 1 WLR 212. 3 As in William Lacey (Hounslow Ltd) v Davis [1957] 1 WLR 932. 4 As in British Steel Corpn v Cleveland Bridge and Engineering Co Ltd [1984] 1 All ER 504. 3 be argued that the comments of Rattee J. are confined to the situation where, by means of such a statement, A makes clear that the risk of the contract’s not being concluded lies with B. Alternatively, it could be said that, even in the absence of such a statement, B must be “taken to know…that pending the conclusion of a binding contract any cost incurred by him in preparation for the intended contract will be incurred at his own risk, in the sense that he will have no recompense for those costs if no contract results.”5 This would fit with the “aleatory” view of negotiations taken by the common law,6 according to which each side is free to withdraw from negotiations for any reason.7 Either way, the obstacles for B are clear. First, the possibility of a claim seems to depend on showing that B’s pre-contractual reliance has benefited A; B is thus denied B protection if his pre- contractual reliance does not leave A with a tangible benefit. Secondly, the importance of a request from A may cause problems where B relies in a way which, whilst it may be foreseeable by A, was not specifically requested. The coverage problem is therefore evident: there may well be cases in which B relies to his detriment on a belief that a contract will be concluded and is unable to make a claim. The gap in the law can be seen in the statement, made after a thorough review of the authorities, of Nicholas Strauss QC, sitting as a Deputy High Court judge in Countryside Communications v ICL Pathway: “Thus I doubt whether an obligation can be imposed on [A]to repay [B] for expense incurred, reasonably or even necessarily, in anticipation of a contract which does not materialise, where this is not in the course of providing services requested by [A].”8 As to clarity, the concern is that the results reached by courts considering pre- contractual reliance lack transparency and predictability. Of course, if the courts were uniformly to apply an unbending rule preventing claims based on pre-contractual reliance, then this aspect of the problem would disappear.
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